Privacy Rights and the High Net Worth Divorce

Typically, almost every aspect of a divorce proceeding is a public record. When the parties involved are celebrities, public figures, or have a high net worth, however, privacy may be of special concern. Fortunately, there are a number of different techniques that you can use in your divorce to protect your privacy, despite the general openness of divorce records.

Collaborative Divorce

A fairly recent trend that more divorcing couples are choosing to utilize is collaborative divorce, which is a purely voluntary form of alternative dispute resolution designed to settle divorces outside of the court system. Each spouse and his or her lawyer enter into a binding agreement to resolve all issues related to the divorce without the intervention of the court. However, if the attempts at settlement fail, the attorneys withdraw from the case and are no longer involved in any way. Each spouse is then free to hire another divorce attorney and continue with the case through traditional litigation. Another unique aspect of collaborative divorce is that the parties jointly select experts, such as appraisers or business valuation experts, in order to properly value their assets and net worth to ensure a fair and equitable divorce settlement. Again, if the settlement attempts fail, these professionals and experts are no longer involved in the case. If successful, the parties enter into a collaborative divorce settlement that the court typically approves and adopts as a court order. This avoids heightened public scrutiny of what is likely to be multiple court appearances and filings, all of which is typically accessible to the general public.

Mediation

Another common form of alternative dispute resolution is mediation. Each spouse and his or her attorney meet with a neutral third-party mediator in order to resolve some or all of the issues related to a divorce. Mediation proceedings are confidential, so if mediation fails, the divorce case simply continues to proceed through the court system, with each spouse retaining his or her attorney. If mediation is successful, the parties enter into a written settlement agreement that the court is likely to approve and adopt as a court order, thus removing the public spotlight and avoiding long, drawn-out, hotly contested divorce proceedings.

Maximizing Your Privacy Rights in Your Florida Divorce

Even if you and your spouse have resolved all issues through alternative dispute resolution or have otherwise reached a pre-suit settlement agreement, you still will have to file the settlement agreement with the court for approval, which typically opens up the contents of the agreement to the public. In order to maximize your privacy rights, you and your spouse can consent to having your now uncontested divorce filed in a remote Florida venue, which may place it far away from the prying eyes of the public. There also may be other ways to simply keep the settlement agreement out of the public divorce records altogether, depending on the circumstances of your case.

Call Your South Florida Divorce Attorney for an Appointment Today

Vanessa L. Prieto Law Offices, LLC, has the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to representing your interests in your high net worth divorce proceedings. Regardless of the specific issues that your divorce case involves, we know how to proceed in your case so as to not only get you the outcome that you desire, but also to keep your divorce proceedings as confidential as possible. We have represented countless clients in South Florida divorce proceedings, and we know what it takes to get a fair and just resolution in these types of cases.

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